The University of Warwick has formed a formal partnership with Monash University, Australia, with funding for collaborative research and education across the two institutions. Professor Graeme Currie (Warwick Business School) and Professor Helena Teede (Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University) have led the development of a successful bid for multi-million pound funding from MWA to support a research and education initiative in healthcare improvement science. The partnership is initially a four way one, encompassing not just Warwick Business School and the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, but Warwick Medical School (represented by Professors Aileen Clarke & Richard Lilford) and Monash Business School (represented by Professor Ian McLoughlin). The intention is to broaden engagement across other academic departments at Warwick and Monash as the initiative gathers speed. There may also be opportunities for researchers from Birmingham and Keele to take advantage of opportunities offered by the initiative where their research involves University of Warwick staff.

The funding is being used to employ two Professors of Healthcare Improvement Science, one with organisation studies expertise at Warwick Business School, the other with a more clinical focus at Monash University. They will be supported by an Assistant Professor at Warwick Business School (Dr Charlotte Croft) and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash University (to be appointed). For those engaged with CLAHRC WM, Dr Charlotte Croft (charlotte dot croft at wbs dot ac dot uk) represents the contact point.

The remit of the MWA Healthcare Improvement Science initiative aligns with that of CLAHRC WM as follows:

• Generate large-scale research funding to address service improvement globally, including resource-poor settings.
• Build academic capacity in healthcare improvement science through PhD scholarships and research workshops.
• Build capacity in healthcare improvement science in healthcare managers and clinical practitioners through executive education short courses and a blended learning Masters in Healthcare Improvement Science.

Academic researchers, healthcare managers and clinical practitioners from CLAHRC WM partners are encouraged to link to the MWA Healthcare Improvement Science initiative as its activity develops. They have already enjoyed early success in securing a grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for $AUS 800k, carrying out research focused upon ‘hospitals of the future’ (involving Currie, McLoughlin & Teede). We hope to draw down more grants from the likes of the NIHR, Horizon 2020, and ARC in the future. To this end, as a first activity, we will be developing a directory of experts from Monash and Warwick, so that those who want to collaborate across the institutions in pursuit of research funding can identify each other. We will also be seeking to showcase CLAHRC WM research as case study material for short courses and the blended learning Masters. Dr Charlotte Croft will be in touch about both matters.